Gardening Answers Knowledgebase

Knowledgebase record #47

PAL Question

Can you recommend some tree species (deciduous) that can have wet feet but
will also tolerate dry conditions in the summer? The recommendations should
be trees that are not too messy (no cottonwoods or alders, please) and not
too big. I would like to plant some trees near a swale in my yard - so they
could be sitting in soggy ground during the winter.

Answer

Following is a list of possibilities, most of which come from Water Conserving Plants
for the Pacific Northwest West of the Cascades (by the N.W. Perennial
Alliance, 1993). The list includes only trees that 1) thrive in soils
which are waterlogged in the winter, and, 2) grow to less than 40 feet tall.